Father and Daughter Reunited After 24 Years

posted by Ritch Cassidy -

Father reunited with daughter he gave up for adoption 24 years ago - find out they have been volunteering at the same rescue mission for MONTHS | Daily Mail Online

After 24 years of separation a father and daughter have finally been reunited - not realizing they had actually been working alongside each other for months.

Amy Roberson, 24, was put up for adoption at birth. She had longed to meet her biological father and he felt the same way, agonizing over the fact he had given her up.

However, once Roberson used relatives to track Will Russell down, it soon emerged they had more in common than shared genes. They had actually been working at the same place in Phoenix for months without realizing they were just feet away from each other the whole time.

Reunited: Amy Roberson, 24, met her biological father, Will Russell, just this year. The two found out that they both had been volunteering at the same rescue mission in Phoenix, Arizona

First Father's Day: Roberson plans to spend her first Father's Day with her biological father, Russell

Roberson found her father after relatives referred her to one of her nine siblings.

'I called just to tell him that I was his daughter and hoping to meet him and any siblings I had,' Roberson told Fox 10 Phoenix.

They met the following morning for breakfast, when Russell explained why he couldn't take care of her when she was born.

His 20s were a 'train wreck' because of alcohol addiction, he said.

But he told her things changed in 2004 when he got sober, and found a new meaning in life through his faith. He has been a pastor for the past six years.

At the end of their conversation, Russell said he had to leave because he was scheduled to volunteer at the Phoenix Rescue Mission.

Answered prayer: Russell had been praying to find his long-lost daughter and have a place in her life

No coincidence: Russell and Roberson say it's no coincidence that they had been working at the same rescue mission in Phoenix

It was then that they realized that they had been working at the same mission, in different capacities for months.

Russell teaches discipleship classes full time, and Roberson helps out in the kitchen once a week.

'When I first began volunteering at the mission, I instantly felt like I needed to be there,' Roberson told The Arizona Republic.

Russell felt the same way: 'The mission became a home away from home.'

Today, Amy plans to celebrate her first Father's Day in 24 years with Russell and the pair couldn't be happier.

'It's been a constant prayer that God would lead me to her life,' Russell said.

Like father, like daughter: Roberson found out that she shares a passion for helping others with her father

New beginning: Russell got sober in 2004 and became a pastor soon after. Now, he teaches discipleship classes at the mission